Close Quarters
by FantasticNic
Summary: flaming destruction puts Juvia in need of a place to stay and making friends with a new roommate
1. Chapter 1

Juvia sat with her head resting on her arms draped across the guild's bar top, letting a deep sigh gave off an aura of gloom while Mira served tables. Laxus walked in and came over taking his normal bar stool and learned forward looking at Juvia raising an eyebrow at the melancholy water mage, "what's eating you puddles?" he asked abruptly.

Juvia raised her head and turned to look at him before answering, "Natsu's defence of the town the town had some unintentional effects mainly in the form of a giant fireball through my dorm. I have spent two days looking for a new place but Juvia was not prepared, um, financially to rent a new apartment. It seems that she was not really close enough with many of the members so it is proving difficult to find a person who can put her up for the time being."

"Oh, shit woman. That's rough," he answered his brow furrowed and he asked his next question, "where are you staying now?"

Juvia gave a meek smile and said, "Gajeel Levy are allowing me to sleep on their sofa but with the baby due to arrive any day that is not something that can continue for too much longer," she said. She gave a glance at the couple across the room and quietly whispered, "Besides, Levy-chan is scary with all those hormones." just then Gajeel stiffened, clearly having overheard the whispered sentiment, and gave a subtle nod causing Laxus to chuckle.

"Maybe Juvia would have had better luck finding a place to stay if she asked differently, perhaps she is coming off rude somehow?" she pondered aloud to no one in particular.

"Well, let me hear it. Ask me." Laxus said to the clearly rhetorical question taking Juvia off guard.

"Erm, I um, would say" she began, "Juvia is looking for a place to stay until she finds a new apartment or repairs are made to her dorm, could Juvia stay with you for a bit…" and the mage continued to mumble nearly inaudibly to herself.

"Yes," Laxus stated in his booming voice and watched Juvia for a reaction, she slowly stopped mumbling and looked at him with a scowl, "well of course you can say yes while Juvia practices but it's not that easy is real life, Laxus."

With a slight tilt of his head Laxus smirked, "But it was that easy, and this is real life Juvia. I have a second bedroom that I don't use at my place and you're welcome to it as long as you would need it."

Juvia sat speechless as Gajeel crossed the room in two large strides leaving his very pregnant wife confused and yelling at his retreating form. "What are you trying to pull here, Sparky?" Gajeel questioned.

"What do you mean, trying to pull, I am hurt by your accusation." he feigned an injury placing his hands over his heart, "but if Juvia needs a place to stay, then why not? The room is empty and she is clearly running low on options."

"You aren't messing with her," Gajeel questioned again.

"Nope," Laxus gave a genuine smile, "guild support and all that." Turning to the still silent Juvia he asked "what do you say?"

Giving a few moments to consider she nodded and said, "of course, thank you Laxus. You are very kind to offer Juvia a place to stay."

Gajeel gave an uneasy look at his friend beaming from pure relief and radiating warmth toward her savior Laxus. "Listen Rain Woman, if you need to come back to my place at any point don't hesitate," he said with a hand on her shoulder.

Juvia smiled and said, "Gajeel your wife scares me and I will be fine with Laxus."

Gajeel laughed and said, "She scares me too." Turning to Laxus e added, "I appreciate you giving her a place to stay, it' hard to not be the one that saves the day for her. I am gonna have to trust that you're doing this for all the right reasons because frankly I have no idea why you are doing it. Just don't make me regret trusting you."

"Ouch, have more faith in me Metal-head. I'm fond of the Rain Woman after the grand magic games, let's just call it a favor between teammates and guild mates."

Juvia's eyes flicked back and forth between the guys and their moment before deciding to reclaim it by asking, "so when do I get to see my room?"


	2. Chapter 2

Laxus and Juvia stood together in the bedroom she was going to be staying in, she held tightly to a rucksack and a small duffel bag sat on the floor beside a tattered box. Juvia gave a cheery smile and announced, "well, that's all of it thanks for the help."

Glancing again at her belongings Laxus questioned, "Are you sure there isn't anything else you need me to bring over?" He was pretty sure every girl he had ever met had more stuff than that in their purse and she was telling him that it was all of her belongings total? Unbelievable.

"No, some of the stuff was kind of fire damaged but honestly Juvia hasn't ever owned a ton of stuff," she said with a short shrug.

Giving a thoughtful nod he gestured around the room, "It's kinda dusty, but nobody ever used it before. You're welcome to the closets and dressers but there might be a few items stored here and there. Bathroom is to the right and my door is on the other side of that if you need anything. Towels are in the closet, just either hang it up to use again or chuck it in the basket if it needs washed. Use what you need, replace what you can." He paused to make sure she didn't have any questions at this point, then continued, "Thunder Legion likes to pop in and out sometimes but they're pretty respectful for the most part. Ya know, besides Bixlow….heh. Here's your key, come and go as you please, and yeah, that's pretty much it." He handed over a small brass colored key on a ring and turned to leave.

Juvia sprang forward and threw her arms around his neck giving him a huge hug, "Thank you again Laxus, I was losing hope and you really came through for me. I'll do my best to stay out of your way and be out of here as soon as I can find my own place."

"Don't worry about it," he said passively, "so since it's your first night what do you want to do to settle in?"

"will you let me cook dinner?" she asked hopefully, "I can run to a shop and be back before you know it."

"You can cook if you want, whatever floats your boat, but I'll come with ya to the shop since I need a few things too," he gave a chuckle, "I hadn't planned on having company."

-at the market-

The marketplace was filled with people bustling around, busy in their own tasks, Laxus walked a few paces byhind Juvia as they made their way though a row of tables and carts laden with goods. Juvia would pause to inspect produce or make a purchase and Laxus would step forward and grab the bag to hold while she continued shopping. The first time he took a bag she ensured him that she could handle it but after insisting they went about their shopping. He found himself enjoying watching Juvia haggle with the merchants, although she would manage to talk all of them down in price she never seemed to wane in her respect for them and kept a calm and cool demeanor. He often related the thought of Juvia with gushes of rain and extreme emotions but with her actions right in front of him he saw the maturity she had achieved since joining the guild.

Laxus purchased a few items for the household including some new soaps and extra tea to accommodate the extra use but he drifted to stalls he normally wouldn't have looked at simply enjoying the company he had while shopping. Juvia pointed toward the tables of breads coming up and mentioned that it was the last item on her list so the duo headed in that direction almost bumping into the person in front of them. Met with a confused expression they saw none other than Laki, the guild's wood maker magic wielding mage.

"Oh, funny running into you here," she laughed, "are you actually here together?"

Juvia nervously answered, "Oh well, yes, I suppose so. I am not sure how it appears to an outside perspective but we did come together." Juvia nervously chatted with Laki for a few moments while she sifted through the merchandise on the table trying to keep politely responding while looking for the type of bread she needed before finally grabbing a loaf and excusing herself to purchase it. "It was nice talking to you Laki, see you around, I need to get back and make dinner. Goodbye," she called.

Heading toward the exit Juvia still seemed flustered, "Oh Laxus, I'm so sorry. Surely that was embarrassing. Juvia hadn't considered what people would think when she began staying at your home." Blushing deeply she looked at the ground as they walked through the exit of the marketplace nearing the path toward home.

Grabbing her arm he stopped her in the path, "Hey, don't do that crap," he insisted. "It's none of anyone's business what goes in in your life or mine but don't for a second think that I would be embarrassed if people assume we are together. As far as I can see you're a damn powerful mage and absolutely gorgeous so and guy would be lucky to be seen with you."

"..really?" she gasped.

"Damn Juvia," he barked, "having your head shoved up popsicle's ego all that time did you absolutely no favors. Think of the things you have done, including what I have seen you do, like participate and kick ass in the Grand Magic Games. You have so much power and I am not sure if I've even seen the limit of it, Juvia. You're a Fairy Tail Wizard and I respect you, you need to learn to respect yourself."

"Tha-thank you Laxus." She stammered, then the two of them walked the rest of the way home in silence as Juvia mulled over what he had said to her.


	3. Chapter 3

When they returned to the house Laxus excused himself to take a shower and Juvia headed to the kitchen and began to prepare their meal. She scouted out pots and utensils and soon had a potato soup in the works, when Laxus came back into the kitchen he was toweling off his hair and making comments about the heavenly smell wafting through the house. He said "You made it near impossible to finish my damn shower, kept having the urge to run down the hall and eat all of this by myself instead."

Juvia giggled softly adding ingredients to the pot, "well it has about fifteen more minutes before it's ready so unfortunately you have to wait a little while longer."

He looked around at the things she had pulled from the cupboards and pantry, "Did you find everything you needed to in here? Not sure if I have all the fancy kitchen gadgets you needed or not," he spoke over the sounds of clanging and simmering.

"Juvia is not exactly what you would call a fancy gadget type of girl but it was a little hard to find everything at first in a new kitchen, but Juvia is getting a feel for where everything goes," she answered as she continued cooking.

"Yeah I bet," he responded. "I am not the most organized person when it comes to this kind of stuff, I really don't even use most of the stuff in the kitchen when I make something. Let's just call my style bachelor chaos."

"Deal, that's a pretty accurate description," she agreed "Do you want some of that crusty bread with your soup?" she asked as she bounced from task to task.

"That actually sounds really good," he nodded, "you really though of everything." Together they chatted away laughing and learning about one another realizing that there was a lot of basic stuff that just never came up in normal guild conversations. Sitting down together Laxus carried over the heavy pot wondering how much would be left over after this, the only that he had leftovers from before was the takeout that got ordered on nights the thunder legion hung out after jobs.

Juvia set spots with bowls and spoons and placed large chunks she had torn from the bread loaf for dipping. They found themselves chatting away during dinner as well and Laxus realized just how quiet his place normally was when it was just him there. This was not something he had thought about, but more and more he felt that going out on a limb and inviting her to stay had been a good idea.

"The damn guild needs a Natsu relief fund for when he goes overboard and burns down or destroys a building!" Laxus shouted, getting heated.

"Juvia definitely wasn't prepared financially for Natsu-based destruction, really don't know how the locals deal with this. We hadn't even been going on many jobs since Gajeel and Levy announced they were going to have the baby, they seem to be doing alright though."

"Well there's two of them and those solo jobs you go on don't pay nearly as well as the big complicated dangerous ones so it is no wonder your funds have slipped without a team to work with," he pointed out. "Something is kind of bothering me though, how did no one notice you were having a hard time?" he questioned, "And it irritates me how many of the guild members not only couldn't put you up but didn't feel the urge to help you find a place. Everyone talks about how close everyone in the guild is but I am buying it."

Juvia dabbed her mouth with her napkin and spoke, "to be fair Juvia didn't make enough effort early on to make better friends. The guild members aren't NOT my friends but none of us are really close with me besides Gajeel. Juvia used to be a little closer with team Natsu but there's definitely more distance there now."

Laxus chewed slowly while he thought and finally asked, "so what happened with all that? If you don't mind me asking that is.?" He quietly added trying not to push too much, but he was curious.

"Oh," Juvia began, "well everyone knew about how Juvia felt about Gray." she rolled her eyes and laughed halfheartedly, "but once we actually spent time together one on one we realized we could only be friends." Laxus looked at Juvia with an arched eyebrow. "Alright!" she shook her head, causing her hair to hide her face a bit, concealing the rosey hue to her cheeks "how about Juvia realized that he had a lot to work on personally and he had a lot of feelings brewing for Lucy. Plus, it was not fun to be around that since he didn't exactly worry about my feelings through all of that. Juvia really didn't make it any easier on myself following him around despite the signs and what others were telling me." She sighed, " after all that Juvia vowed to not get attached to anyone that can't return my feelings again."

Juvia blushed even deeper and looked away from Laxus's eyes as soon as they met. He sat still watching her as he processed her admission, she had gotten over gray as the rumors said but he wondered how much that hurt for her during the process and how much pain she endured out of false hope. He sensed her embarrassment and started to feel bad for asking such personal questions on her first night as his room mate, unable to take the silence and further he blurted "I am jealous of the damned cats.

"What?" Juvia asked genuinely puzzled and taken by surprise.

"I wanted to share something to make it less awkward but I am pretty sure I just made it worse." He ruffled his hair and sat back in his chair with a sly smile.

"what did you even say?" she asked laughing

"All of the other dragon slayers have those exceed cats and I am pissed I don't get one," he admitted.

Juvia giggled, "Juvia wanted my own cat too, Juvia got to be around Panther Lily a lot but he is definitely Gajeel's partner in that sense. Juvia wouldn't necessarily need a talking flying exceed cat but having a cat in general would be nice, a companion of sorts."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Laxus woke up and groggily walked into the kitchen rubbing his five o'clock shadow and looking around, he immediately noticed the coffee was already brewed and a mug waited beside the carafe for him and a muffin sat on a plate with a small card folded in front of it. He picked up the card and flipping it open he read headed out on a quick job today, left a little something as a thank you once again. He smiled and picked up the muffin, that woman was going to have to stop trying to thank him at every turn, but by the smell of it this muffin was going to be fantastic and maybe he did want to let her cook all the time. Taking a bite of the muffin he turned to pour his coffee and get on his way, he was due to meet the Thunder Legion at the guild hall within the hour and he normally wouldn't even stop to eat before heading out.

Reaching the guild he pushed the door open and made a beeline for his barstool and felt the presence of many eyes on him as he sat down. Mira flitted past a waiting Macao and Wakaba straight to Laxus and he knew he was in trouble, the devil woman was out for information and she wanted it from him. He clenched his jaw giving her nothing but a grimace, "Morning Mira."

"I believe it is a good morning, Laxus," she cooed, "I hear a certain water mage found a place to stay, what would you know about that?" She titled her head and rested her chin on her hands peering directly at him.

"I knew you'd be the first one to come at me about this, why can't I ever so something nice without everyone making a big deal about it?" he growled, "she needed a favor and I had room. End of story you gossiping chatterbox."

"Now the only reason I am asking is to clear things up," she frowned, "I am glad you were nice to her, and I personally don't need to ask about motive because I have speculated on this one for a while, she added with a wink.

He smacked his hand firmly on the bar top and snapped back, "don't go starting all that again, you always gotta see something with every situation. I was nice, let it go."

Mira crossed her arms in front of her and pursed her lips, "you can deny it but I have seen your eyes on her more often than not when she is in here, ever since your little interaction at the games I think you are smitten with her because she isn't scared of your gruff exterior, she does have practice putting up with grumpy men that is for sure."

The doors opening drew Laxus's attention and when he saw his team entering he moved toward them and called behind him, "Goodbye Mira."

"This isn't over, Laxus!" she shouted back.

Being shuttled out the door Evergreen glanced back inside the guild hall, and asked, "What was THAT? How you piss her off this time?"

Laxus snarled, "agggh she is just all up in everyone's business making up stories like usual." He ushered the group toward the cafe across the block, "Let's just do our meeting here, we have don't have to leave until later tonight anyway."

The group exchanged looks and this time Freed spoke, "You seem awfully tense, Laxus, you sure you're fine?"

"I was fine until that busybody got all snoopy on me the second I walked in," he barked, "she ruined my morning." Sitting at the table he looked at the team before him, he sighed and muttered, "but I guess I need to get you guys up to speed. Yesterday I heard Juvia was looking for a place to stay and since I have room I invited her to stay at my place. No need to make a big deal about it, just a favor." He leaned back kicking one leg out straight and rested his fingers loosely against his face and glanced around the cafe.

"So ol Blue is shacked up at your place?" Bixlow sneered with a nudge at Laxus, "nice, Boss."

"Hey, it ain't like that," Laxus pointed at Bixlow, "and don't let her hear you say shit like that, she freaked out enough when Laki saw us together and she thought I was embarrassed to be seen standing next to her. That girl needs some damn self-confidence."

"Yeah sure Boss," Bixlow laughed, "whatever you say. We will continue pretending it's coincidence that you broke up all those guild fights by smacking Fullbuster in the back of the head with furniture rather than who actually started it."

Evergreen gave a thoughtful smile, "he's got a point Laxus, you always seem a little more protective of Juvia than the others, maybe she doesn't see it but we're your team and we're always with you, we've seen it." She gave a reassuring pat to his arm, "we haven't ever said anything before but It's there."

Laxus blew a breath causing his cheeks to puff a bit, "ok, let's say you're right, that still doesn't change that she is just needing a place to stay, nothing is going on."

"YET." Bixlow winked.

"Whatever." Laxus replied quickly.

"So where is she at today?" Evergreen asked, "is she fending for herself in the guild? Mira probably ate the poor girl alive."

"Nah," Laxus said, "she was gone when I got up, left a note sayin she went on a job. She thinks she needs to rush and find a new place but I aint sweating it."

Evergreen stifled a smile and said, "we'll have to bring her on a few jobs, I bet her powers could be a nice asset for the team."

Laxus sat up rubbing his eyes, "alright guys, can we just get on with our prep for the job?"

…

Exhausted Juvia walked up the path to Laxus's house ready to relax after the long job. It hadn't been a difficult task but it was however very time consuming, she spent most of the day helping a nearby town channel water into their new irrigation system and find leaks, she was quite glad that someone had specifically requested her for her water manipulation but doing the job alone had made it stretch out a lot longer than she anticipated but she was happy to have the jewel for her hard work. Just as she reached to put her hand on the door handle she heard an eruption of laughter from inside, turning the handle proved that the door was unlocked and she was met with the sight of the Thunder Legion gathered in the living room with takeout containers covering the small low tables around the room.

Evergreen looked up and called to the water mage, "Juvia! You're back, join us. I hope we don't interfere with any plans you had for the night but we decided to put off our mission until tomorrow and hang out this evening instead."

Juvia timidly stepped inside and made her way into the crowded living room where Evergreen sat in an arm chair, Bixlow stretched across the sofa with Freed bunched in the small space remaining at the end, and Laxus sat casually on the floor with his back against the wall. Juvia sat on the edge of the ottoman in front of Evergreen's chair and tucked one ankle behind the other peering around the room. Laxus gently nudged her and passed a takeout container her way, "Care for some noodles?"

"Thank you," she said as she accepted, "what a nice surprise. I had expected an empty house, from what Laxus said you had planned to leave this afternoon."

"Yes, but we decided to wait for you to get back and invite you along on our mission," Freed announced, "if you'd be willing to come along, that is," he said with a flourish of his hand.

Juvia nodded while she swallowed, "Of course, I am excited to go with you." She beamed as she considered the possibility of being accepted into this group and listened as they broke down their job summary and what they would be needing to bring along on the trip. She noticed Laxus looking her way a few times and brushed the thought away at first, but after a few more times she found herself fighting a smile from deep within, maybe he was looking at her specifically.


	5. Chapter 5

Mira burst in Master Makarov's office, "we have received a message that needs your immediate attention, Master," she said in a flustered tone handing an envelope over the desk. She stood wringing her hands nervously while the master read and waited for his reaction and the instructions she was sure would follow soon after.

The message read:

 _ **Attention Fairy Tail,**_

 _ **I have seen your sins and betrayals, there is no excuse for such heinous wizards to inhabit this land therefore I will bring a cleansing upon your guild. The two with the deepest, darkest sins will be the first to have their blood spilled as retribution, the rest of the sinners will follow. Be prepared for your deaths will go down in history, only those truly without sin shall be allowed to live.**_

 _ **-Justice**_

"I see," Master said with a frown, "put the emergency procedure into motion, bring all of my children here and we will prepare our attack on this threat, unfortunately I have very little to go on and we have no timeframe so figuring out who this is will be key."

Mira rushed from the office grabbing Cana as she passed dragging the brunette from her seat to where Warren was seated. "I have an emergency request straight from the master," she began," Please use your telepathy and contact lacrimas Warren, and your communication cards Cana; and tell all of the guild members to return back here as soon as possible. There has been a threat made on Fairy Tail." Her face was grim and without question Cana and Warren got to work summoning all the members back to get more information.

-back with Juvia and the Thunder Legion on their job-

Juvia pulled the card Cana had given each of them from her bag, it was alerting something but the message was scrambled. "Hm, there must be something important going on but I can't decipher this message, we must be out of range."

Evergreen held her communication lacrima from Warren high in the air, "this thing isn't coming in clear either, but luckily we are done here so we can start heading back," she said to the group.

"Unless the message is telling us not to head back to Fairy Tail," Freed pointed out hesitantly. "until we get into range we have to idea what we are supposed to be doing."

Laxus glanced back from his position a few steps further down the trail, "When was the last time those things went off like that?" he asked.

There was a moment of silence as they thought and finally Bixlow answered, "The attack of Alvarez on Magnolia."

"Exactly," Laxus said, "Whatever this is it is big, and it ain't good. All we can do for now is head back toward Magnolia until our messages come in clear and then make a game plan once we know what is going on. Head toward the train station and we will have about two days until we get all the way back to the guild hall."

The group boarded the first train available in the direction they were heading and sat in silence waiting for any of their communication tools to come into range and pick up a message. Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed began to busy themselves with a game of cards and Juvia sat next to the window staring out at the scenery as it whizzed past, she felt a heavy weight sink against her side as she realized the dragon slayer next to her finally fell asleep and rested his head against her. Whether it was intentional or not she had to admit she enjoyed the closeness, she could smell the scent of his soap and his light stubble scraped her skin softly, Juvia felt a flutter in her stomach as she glanced at his hair and got the urge to run her fingers through it. Looking up she saw Evergreen flick her eyes away quickly and remembered they had an audience, turning back to the window she forced herself to look back out.

 _Stop it._ She told herself, _you're not going to do this again_ **.** _Don't get obsessed with another guy that can tolerate you and mistake it for interest._ She fought the queasy feeling rising with her frustration with herself, _he has given no indication he is interested,_ she reminded herself. _What has he done other than gave a guildmate a place to stay and talked with her because she was around? He may have been shooting looks her way but she had no idea if that was because she had food in her teeth or her hair was sticking up._ She sighed and let her forehead press against the cool glass of the window, _get your head straight_ , she told herself.

The train approached the edge of the next town when everyone's communication lacrimas buzzed simultaneously, Laxus sat up and held up a hand, "just one, we don't need five of these things blaring in one train car," he pointed out hitting a button allowing the message to play.

Warren's voice entered the train car, "Attention all Fairy Tail members, Master asks for all members to immediately return to the guild. There has been a threat on Fairy Tail, please be careful and trust no one until you get back here. All we have been told to say for the time being is that this is a guild-wide threat and no one is presumed safe at the moment."

Laxus ended the message and pressed another button to connect with the Master, sitting forward on the edge of his seat while it connected. "Hey Gramps, yeah, apparently we have been out of range until now. Everyone is safe here, yep, Thunder Legion and Juvia all accounted for, we're about a day and a half out from Magnolia." The group all looked on only being able to hear his side of the conversation, "Shit Gramps that's bleak, no clue, we'll brainstorm on out way back and let ya know what we come up with if it seems to fit. Ok. Bye."

Laxus slid the lacrima back into his pocket and looked at the group, "well from what Gramps said it was a threat on the whole guild but it mentioned two being the first the have blood spilled, but didn't use any names. Said the two with the darkest sins, not sure what that means though or who it would be for sure… but I have an idea" he said as his eyes flicked to Juvia.

Juvia stiffened and paled, "me?"

"Are you serious, Laxus?" Evergreen pressed.

"It makes sense," Freed agreed, "Think about it, Juvia and Gajeel are both members joined from a dark guild, wouldn't that qualify as the darkest? And as far as sins? She was involved in kidnapping and who knows what else during her time in Phantom Lord."

Juvia's world spun, she felt the vomit rising in her throat and a dizziness took over her mind and she found herself unable to think straight, she knew this was a real possibility, she did have dark sins. She felt pressure on both of her shoulders and her vision cleared, she saw Laxus inches from her face.

"Listen Juvia," he said firmly, "we are only saying these things because they exist in your past, we don't dislike you and neither does anyone else in the guild. Remember you are sitting here with a group of people that attacked the entire guild, we know what it is like to have crap you can't undo lurking in your shadows. All this means is that we know we are going to have to protect you. I am going to call Gramps back and let him know our theory and put protection on Gajeel and the wife and baby on the way, that situation puts him in more danger trying to protect them."

Juvia suddenly felt hot tears spilling over her lids and rolling down her cheeks, "Thank you," she murmured as she collapsed against Laxus and melted into his chest allowing herself a moment to inhale his scent and press herself into him with a firm hug before letting go.

The others in the train car exchanged glances and then Evergreen broke the silence, "Laxus you go make that call, Juvia can come with me to the dining car to find food for us all and these boys can begin strategizing, we have work to do."


	6. Chapter 6

The train ride back to Magnolia was a painful. As Juvia finally drifted off she was clearly mentally exhausted and the thunder legion slipped out of the train car leaving the sleeping water mage slumped against the window with Laxus's coat draped over her. When in the hallway they slid the door closed to talk quietly in the hallway but Laxus kept his eyes on Juvia in the car in case they needed to spring into action at any moment.

"So what's the plan, Boss?" Bixlow asked "I know you've got something in mind, I can see the gears turning over there."

Laxus nodded, "Okay, I figure Fairy Tail has eyes on Gajeel's place but they've put Levy under protection at Sabertooth, they figure if our culprit is after Gajeel she's safer there and being pregnant she needs to be away from any possible chaos. Plus, Rogue and Sting can handle anyone that shows up looking for trouble." He let a sigh escape nodding toward the sleeping Juvia and said, "as far as the one goes, I'm not sure if they are aware of where she is but I'm assuming they are. When we get to Magnolia we need to keep all of our focus on the task at hand meaning some of us are going to be scoping out the crowds looking for suspicious activity, that will be Bixlow and Evergreen. As far as attacking goes I would say petrify first, ask questions later, lives are at stake.

"Ok, Boss, Evergreen replied, "petrification is temporary, death is not. Did anyone figure out who is behind this or if they're actually after the former Phantom Lord fairies?

"Nothing is for sure yet but they said the not was signed Justice," Laxus informed the group.

"Justice? Someone is awfully full of themselves," Freed said, "I've been trying to pinpoint anyone in particular that would be hellbent on getting even for something involving the guild collateral damage, families of those we've caught, pretty much anyone that might have an issue with the guild but nothing has stood out. Hopefully someone will be able to figure something out," he sighed, "but with Levy being stashed away we are down our best researcher."

Just then Bixlow alerted that one of his babies had seen someone coming and it was time to go back inside their train car or risk being heard.

The rest of the ride was a strange combination of stressful anticipation with a bit of lighthearted joking sprinkled in by the Thunder Legion to keep Juvia from sinking too far into her worries but still just as the train pulled into Magnolia Station a drizzle of rain let loose and Juvia's breathing became irregular, in a show of comfort Laxus placed his hand on the small of her back as she exited the train.

Juvia felt the presence of all of her friends as she looked around, Bixlow sent his babies out for surveillance and the team made their way toward the guild hall together. Tensions were obviously running high as they were on alert, but they made it safely to the guild hall. Once inside Laxus immediately pulled Juvia by the arm into the master's office where Gajeel and Makarov were already waiting. As Laxus entered the office behind Juvia he heard a voice behind him, "Why does he get to go in there?" Laxus turned to look at the speaker face to face, "Vested interest, Fullbuster, mind your own business." Laxus smirked and left a confused and angry looking Gray sulking.

Entering the room Laxus saw Gajeel sitting near the master's desk and looking over he shot a knowing glance his way and said, "Heard that," but it was clear that Juvia not only did not hear the exchange but her mind was also deep in thought. Master Makarov sat at his desk and Gajeel stood from his seat to comfort his friend. Hey Ameonna, we're gonna be alright," he said calmly, "we've been worse than this before and survived." Although he spoke in a reassuring tone it was clear that he was worried as well.

"So what's going on Gramps?" Laxus asked looking stoic.

Makarov frowned and shook his head in disappointment "We haven't found any definite details and we have no idea of these are the members actually being targeted first but honestly it is the best idea anyone has come up with." Makarov then set out a possible plan for Gajeel and Juvia asking them their option setting a trap with runes to keep all the members safe inside the guild not allowing anyone else inside and trying to catch any attacker if they showed up at the entrances while they continued to research who might be threatening them.

Juvia shifted uncomfortably and reluctantly agreed saying, "I can't think of anything better but I am just ready for all of this to be over." Gajeel nodded stating he just wanted to see his wife home and safe before the baby came.

The group exited the office and began to prepare the guild members with the plan, Freed set rune traps keeping anyone from entering the guild and Bixlow used his babies as security to keep a perimeter. Other mages walked routes to watch out windows and set spells on the various entrances while others researched and contacted anyone that could possibly be privy to information that would help in any way.

Hours passed and the air grew thick with tension, Juvia sat at a table at the back corner of the room near where Gajeel laid across a bench. Lxus, unable to stand still paced the room back and forth. Suddenly a sharp inhale broe the silence, those close enough to hear the startled breath turned to face Lisanna who looked troubled, "Um, Bixlow, weren't use using seven of your babies?"

"Yeah," he responded unsure of where she was going with her comment.

"I count eight," she said, her voice cracking. Suddenly everyone was looking around the hall counting the floating dolls and sure enough eight dolls were seen.

Bixlow summoned his babies, "come to me now, babies," as one headed the opposite direction transforming into a hooded male figure smiling manically from beneath his cloak.

Gajeel sat up stepping toward Juvia and Laxus made his way toward her from his current position at the far end of the room as everyone gathered to disable the intruder in the center of the room. Juvia peered at the floor tilting her head in confusion, she had two shadows looking at the other shadows in the room only one other person had two….Gajeel. She tried to even her breathing enough to scream, "They've been here the whole time, we secured them in the guild with us!" as she shouted the shadows below her and Gajeel spread across the floor and swallowed them both into darkness and shrank down disappearing on themselves.

The hooded figure now completely surrounded by Fairy Tail members laughed and cackled, being tackled to the floor and secured by anti-magic cuffs and chains. Laxus dove to the ground where Juvia had been finding no trace of her and the storm unleashed.


	7. Chapter 7

Juvia lay motionless on the dirty floor and Gajeel stood protectively over her waiting for any sign that one of their captors may be near, but he couldn't sense anyone past the heavy concrete walls and metal bars that surrounded them. Juvia stirred, her eyelids fluttered, a moan of pain escaped her lips as she finally opened her eyes completely and the damp mildew smell invaded her nose. She saw the outline of a person coming slowly into focus, blinking repeatedly as her vision adjusted to the darkness, and before it could clear up completely she excitedly called out, "Laxus, "

She heard the gruff voice of Gajeel respond, "Oh you wish Ameonna."

Sitting up too quickly out of embarrassment Juvia felt the room spin a bit and she put her hand to her head to steady herself. "Sorry Gajeel, Juvia just…" she attempted to formulate a sentence and ultimately failed.

"No worries, Rain Woman, you've got yourself a good one there, he said with a chuckle.

"Juvia doesn't have anything" she said defensively wearing a look of disappointment.

"Don't be stupid," he responded harshly, "that slayer has been protective of you since the Grand Magic Games, I wasn't sure if he was really into you at first but he kept it up, then he had you stay with him and there was no doubt in my mind after he snapped at the popsicle back at the guild earlier."

"He really did that?" she asked quietly.

"yep, said he had a vested interest in you when he followed you into the master's office," Gajeel smiled, "I bet he'll do something to prove to you soon enough, but for now we've got to figure out how to get out of Here. My lady and I got a baby on the way any day now and I am gonna be there for that birth come hell or high water. "

"right," Juvia said with a firm nod, "Where are we?"

"not entirely sure," he replied running his hands down the walls, "but it aint magic friendly so don't go trying it, I got my ass blasted real good trying to bust a wall and these bars are protected by runes so I can't just chomp through." He stepped toward the door causing the green shimmer of runes to light up briefly.

"hm" Juvia stood and approached the runes and read over the symbols quickly, "all Juvia can make out from this is magic suppression and magic seeking blasts, which you already told me, and neither of those sound like good news for us," she sighed . 

Gajeel looked in the direction of the door, someone is coming he whispered. Footsteps rustled down the hallway and a hooded figure came to the door. "Our leader will be pleased to hear that you are awake when he arrives." The hooded figure leered, "You are due to be executed at dusk."

"Executed?" Juvia screamed, "For what?"

"Oh, your whole guild has wronged the leader, he taunted, "so you have been nominated for the first sacrifice by being the worst of the bunch, former dark guild members, sinners, and evil wrong doers."

Juvia sobbed, "none of that should matter, we regretted our mistakes and did our best to make amends for any wrong we had done, we aren't like that anymore, and our guild is not bad by any means we are always helping others." She felt the frustration rising in her and clenched her fists to keep from causing the magic seeking attacks to trigger in the cell.

Gajeel stiffened his stature and shouted at their captor, "I don't care what your leader thinks but I know our guild isn't going to stand back and let you take any of us down that easily."

"Oh you fools," the hooded figure sneered, "do you really think there's anything they can do to save you now? The other shadow soldier is on his way back to fetch the leader from your guild then it's all over for you, until then…" he called as he turned walking back the way he came from.

-Back at the Guild-

Fairy Tail was on lockdown, a hooded figure was chained with anti-magic cuffs in the center of the main room thanks to the quick action of the members but still Gajeel and Juvia had been taken; _this guy wouldn't be captured if he hadn't stuck around to taunt everyone_ , thought Laxus. His lightning spread across Magnolia since Juvia was taken, causing all of the citizens to hide inside in fear of being struck by the bolts that shattered through the clouds every few seconds.

Laxus growled at the man, "Where are they? Bring them back"

The hooded maniac smirked, "Don't you care who I am?"

Punching the pillar just behind the man Laxus quickly rose from his kneeling position and paced in agitation, "Fine, tell me," he said angrily.

"I am Justice, I will right all of your wrongs," he flashed and eerie grin, "The world should have ended many times over and my people would have inherited earthland, but time and time again this guild of sinners has saved the doomed lands from fate. My one true goal in life has become clear through all of this, I am meant to rid earthland of your presence sand allow it to finally end and bring forth the new light for my people. Our cleansing starts with your darkest members, those who have sinned against Earthland as well as you, their own guild. Gajeel Redfox and Juvia Lockser are murderers and you house them within these walls as if you are proud of them, they deserve to die and their blood shall stain the soil in retribution.

A loud crack of lightning hit just outside the guild hall, "This guy is a psychopath," he growled to Makarov who stood beside him, "we need to find them."

Suddenly a shadow seeped across the floor near Justice and began to form a human shape, a rune trap snapped into place around where the figure was forming and a shock left the hooded man unconscious, appearing to be one that had taken the others. Freed stepped forward to read the rune trap he had set.

Laxus stepped forward to speak to Freed when a voice entered his head, It was Mest utilizing Warren's telepathy, "I Have slowly been altering Justice's mind and memories, in a moment I will be implanting the last chunk of altered memories and when I do I need you all to play along. I am going to make him think that myself, Natsu, Gray, and Laxus are his comrades and the guy in the rune trap is a prisoner to take back with us. He will not think that the rest of the guild are enemies for the time being and I will teleport the rescue group back to the coordinates Freed took from the rune trap. Once we are there we will incapacitate Justice so he can't make any orders and find our members. The magic council will be alerted the second we arrive and will infiltrate them and take them down. Nod if you understand all of this." Laxus, Gray, and Natsu nodded and the guild members spread out to look less conspicuous as Mest implanted the last of the altered memories.

Justice looked confused for a moment and shook his head as if he had water in his ear, looking at his chained hands he snarled, "take these off of me, now." Mest stepped forward and removed the cuffs and Justice smirked, "let's go," he called. Mest, Natsu, Laxus, Gray and Justice disappeared from the guild hall.

Mira looked toward Makarov, "now that do we do master?"

"Now, we wait," he replied.


	8. Chapter 8

The group appeared in a dark stone building with shuttered windows and a long hallway stretching each direction off of the room they were in. Justice looked smug as he stepped forward, "Well Gentlemen, It's time," he sneered. Laxus placed a hand on his shoulder and unleashed a powerful bust of electricity dropping him immediately to the floor.

"Throw those cuffs back on him, Mest," he said, taking notice immediately that there was no rain pelting the roof, "Either Juvia isn't here or they got their magic suppressed, it's dry as a bone out there."

Gray took a few steps one direction down the hallway and muttered, "she'll probably come bounding around a corner any second once she senses my presence." A large bolt of lightening struck just outside the building with a deafening crack. "Can you calm down, Sparky? The whole place is gonna know we're here now," Gray snapped, "why are you so worked up about this?"

Making a low growling noise Laxus raged, "I already told you, vested interest, not my fault you don't see her as special but I do and this ain't gonna happen to her as long as I am breathing."

Gray looked at Natsu and chuckled saying, 'Is this really because he has feelings for Juvia? Man, he is gonna be pissed when she sees me and goes all psycho clinger leaving him just sitting there like he's chopped liver." Laxus covered the distance between them in a split second with anger in his eyes.

Mest stepped between Laxus and Gray and gave a stern look, "Magic Council is on the way, let's move."

-In the Cell-

A boom shook the building as lightening struck and the electricity left an astounding amount of static in the air causing Juvia's hair to begin to lift in wisps. She snapped her head up and Gajeel smiled, "looks like your boyfriend is here."

Juvia let a ragged breath escape as tears brimmed in her eyes, "do you really think that is him?"

"Not denying he's your boyfriend, eh?" he smirked, "and I have been on the receiving end of his volts before, I am positive that is him."

"He's not my boyfriend, but Juvia swears if she gets out of this mess that she will work on that, " she gave a smile of determination with the grime of the dirty cell smeared on her cheek.

Gajeel nudged her playfully, "I am gonna hold you to that, Ameonna."

-Hallway-

"Natsu, why don't you and I go this way," Mest called, glancing down the hallway one direction "I'm hoping that two of us will be able to handle whatever is each direction."

Laxus saw that he was left with Gray and pushed his anger aside to focus on finding Juvia. "Let's go Frosty, we got work to do," he said not waiting for Gray before heading down the hallway the opposite direction, pushing through a heavy door and running quickly down the corridor.

Meeting and enemy almost immediately after passing through the doors an ice dagger shot past Laxus's head taking the guy down. Two more men exited from a room and took a fighting stance as Laxus shot precise bolts to them, each falling in a heap where they stood. Gray pushed ahead and nearly bumped into the other hooded figure that had appeared in the guild earlier, Laxus inhaled behind him knowing that this meant there was a good chance Juvia was not only here, but down this corridor. Not finding time to decide on a magic attack Laxus pushed Gray out of the way and grabbed the man in the hood, slamming his head hard against the nasty stone wall, leaving an unconscious form slumped on the floor.

Gray flung open the door at the end of the hallway stepping in and standing shirtless with the light cascading in behind him, he saw Gajeel and Juvia inside the cell in the room looking over and Juvia had a look of confusion on her face.

"Where's Laxus," she asked craning to see around Gray.

"What do you mean where's Laxus?" Gray questioned, "I just came in here to save you."

"Oh of course Gray," she replied quietly, looking disappointed.

Laxus knocked Gray out of his way with a quick shove and saw Juvia in the cell, looking pitiful and defeated with tears streaking through the layer of filth on her skin. "I don't think she is very happy to see you, Frosty, and you're here to save her from a cell." Laxus raised and eyebrow, "doesn't look good for you."

Hearing his voice Juvia peered up and beamed, "you did come!" wiping tears away she stood, carefully avoiding the runes. Gray scowled angrily as they made their way closer to the cell to investigate the runes and heavy bars and walls encasing their guildmates.

The Magic Council workers entered the room followed by Natsu and Mest. "Good, you have recovered the hostages," a worker noticed, "now let's see what we can do to get them out of there without any further harm." With a little work they managed to diffuse the complex runes on the cell, and Gajeel broke the bars acting as a door, "I've been ready to do that since the moment they threw us in there," he snarled. Juvia exited the cell and slowly approached Laxus and he pulled her protectively into his arms giving her a long embrace before dropping his jacket over her to warm her up.

A high level council worker stepped forward and spoke to Mest, "From what we have gathered in the short time since you alerted us of the kidnapping, this group was a small time fanatical cult that had a main goal to inherit Earthland after a cataclysmic event. They ended up blaming guilds for saving Earthland from devastating events and had actually made hitlists of guilds they hoped to eliminate. Fairy Tail graced the top of their list, we are assuming it is for your involvement in stopping the FACE, Tartaros, and the attack of the Alvarez Empire." The worker made some clicks on his communication lacrima before continuing, "we have a lot of investigating left to do here, but you all are free to go. Expect someone to contact you at a later date, we may need more information depending on what we find here. We are providing transport back for the entire group, thank you for your service."

-A few days later-

It had been a few days since the rescue mission and the capture of Justice and hardly anyone had seen either Juvia or Gajeel. Levy delivered a healthy baby girl the day after Gajeel's return, many blamed the stress for her early delivery, they had kept to themselves thus far but the guild eagerly awaited their first visit with the new arrival. A bit of gossip and speculation circulated around Juvia's whereabouts, some of it was exaggerated but a decent amount of it was more accurate than the guild members knew.

One morning the thunder legion burst into the guild hall laughing, Mira looked over and asked, "what's so funny this early in the morning?"

Evergreen answered as she sat at a table, "Just laughing at these fools getting the boss all mad at them like usual."

Mira chuckled, "Oh? How's that?"

Bixlow reluctantly replied, "I accidentally let the damn cat out after he had just warned me not to and we had to chase it down. Took almost a half an hour with him shooting sparks at us the entire time saying if we woke Juvia he'd kill us."

"So Juvia is doing well then" Mira pried.

Evergreen's lips turned up into a small smile, "yeah, she's doing just fine. Laxus is seeing to that."


End file.
